What are your rituals? We all have them. Some we recognize as such, some we do not. We rise from our sleep and perform rituals. We eat and perform rituals. Rituals are a part of every day we are alive.

This morning, a wet, rather dreary morning, I performed a new ritual. It is interesting to learn new rituals that I can integrate with my old ones. This one I have been holding off for a while, not sure what I wanted from it or what I could give to it.

Ritual, the kind I am talking about here, always puts me into some sort of spiritual place. I’m not talking about the ritual of brushing my teeth, but more defined rituals. This one was an earth ritual. The idea was to get me to connect to the element of the earth and to see myself somehow a part of it. I may do this one every now and then.

Being raised Christian, I learned many rituals from a very early age. Some of them I still do and they mean quite a lot to me. Many have lost much of their meaning and I no longer do them. Some I am replacing with new rituals.

When we perform meaningful rituals, we enter a different space, a different mindset. I don’t think it matters much what our spiritual leanings are. What is important is the presence of ourselves in the ritual. Are we just saying words, or are we really present in what is happening. The answer to that question makes all the difference in the world.

So what are your rituals? Do you dance naked around a fire or kneel in church and recite the rosary? What is it that deepens your soul and makes life a little easier?